Prosecuting His Past
by Rin-neechan
Summary: It began with a phone call, completely out of the blue after thirteen years. A phone call Miles Edgeworth didn't even answer.
1. The Beginning

This is set after Joe Darke is convicted for Neil Marshall's murder when the rumors about Edgeworth started circulating. Right around when Phoenix read that article about him, and tried to get a hold of him.

By the way, this is NOT one of the two "longer drabbles" I promised. This isn't supposed to be funny. If you laugh at this, you have no soul. Shame on you. I'm back to the depressing type stuff I'm actually good at writing, instead of corny shorts.

* * *

Once out of the courtroom, Miles Edgeworth sat at his large desk and sipped at some tea. 

He had just finished reading an interesting newspaper tabloid about himself.

"The Dark Suspicions of the Demon Prosecutor" or something to that effect.

A demon that puts criminals in jail?

A demon that takes the slime of the city and makes sure they get what they deserve?

But of course people aren't interested in talking about what good others do, but only to watch their downfall.

That didn't matter to him.

His cases were perfect.

He was perfect.

He had won, of course.

He had become a prosecutor two years ago at the age of twenty and was still undefeated.

Being young and talented however, came with consequences.

He had many enemies.

Almost any defense attorney in the Los Angeles area would be sweating bullets as they sat across from him.

Friends and foes didn't matter to Miles.

His main concern was his verdicts.

He would accept no deals, no agreements and no sugar-coating.

The police brought him criminals and he gave them what they deserved.

Prison.

Or death.

He didn't care what was needed to get that guilty verdict.

His last case was a hard one however.

Miles never thought about cases after they were closed, but this one was particularly unusual.

There was barely any evidence.

Half as much as their usually is.

Even the decisive evidence was still suspicious.

A knife that didn't match the wound in the last victim.

But the tip of the switchblade was broken, and found inside the last victim's wound.

The wound was questionable, but the evidence was all that mattered.

The judge had asked for several coroners to perform new autopsies, to find the reason behind the wound.

All autopsies came back with the same result.

Numerous professionals couldn't all make the same mistake.

He finished his tea and forced thoughts of the past out of his mind.

He set down his tea cup and caught a red flashing light in the corner of his eye.

Four messages?

He had been busy lately with the SL-9 case and didn't take any calls during that time.

He pushed a button on his switchboard and listened closely.

"You have four new messages. First message sent Monday eleven twenty-three A.M."

The machine beeped.

"Uh, hey Edgeworth. This is Phoenix Wright. We went to fourth grade together for a few months before you transferred, but I was just calling to catch up. Give me a call when you get some time, I'd like to have a word with you. My number's 555-3411 and the area code's the same as yours. Alright, bye.

The machine beeped again.

Phoenix Wright?

Calling him out of the blue after thirteen years?

"Next message sent Tuesday two forty-nine P.M."

"Edgeworth? It's Phoenix Wright again. I called yesterday too, but I guess you're busier than I thought. I just read up about your case recently. You know, the serial killer guy and I wanted to ask you about it. My number's still 555-3411. I'm local so hope to hear from you."

Beep.

First he wants to catch up, then talk about SL-9?

Next message sent Wednesday nine twenty-six A.M."

"So I guess you don't work NORMAL business nine through five hours. I thought I'd catch you if I called earlier. If it would make life easier I could stop by the Prosecutor's office and talk to you then. Please Edgeworth, just call me. Number's the same...bye."

Beep.

He was getting annoyed.

Miles wasn't in his office all week; he was in court and investigating.

But he didn't think Wright cared much about catching up.

"Next message sent Thursday four fifty-four P.M."

"You know, that lady that transfers calls to you is rude as hell! Alright, I'll tell the truth this time. Why'd you become a prosecutor? I thought you wanted to be a defense attorney. Remember all that ranting you did about being 'just like father'? What happened to you, Edgeworth? You were a real stick in the mud, you know? I don't want to believe that you forge evidence, but there's always some truth behind rumors one way or another. Please, five minutes of your time is all I'm asking for. Please?"

So maybe he did want to catch up, but not in the friendly way most people do.

Who cares about what was said all those years ago?

Things change, and so do people.

Besides, Wright would never understand, nor was it any of his business why things turned out the way they did.

Miles knew it was mostly concern on Wright's part, but he was sticking his nose where it didn't belong.

It was irritating.

He was startled when he heard his phone start ringing.

Instinctively, he was about to reach for the receiver, but remembered the four messages he had just listened to and decided to let it ring.

He didn't want to speak to Wright, if that's who it was.

The phone beeped.

"You've reached the desk of Miles Edgeworth, High Prosecutor of the Los Angeles District Court of Law. I apologize for missing your call, so please leave your name, contact information and a detailed message and I will get back to you at my next available moment. Thank you."

Beep.

"..." Edgeworth heard a sigh and a click, then the phone beeped again.

It seemed like he'd given up.

Finally.

Just in case though, Miles took out his cell phone and added Phoenix Wright as a new contact.

His number was easy enough to remember.

Wright may get a hold of his cell phone number and try to reach him that way.

At least this way he'd be able to see his number on the caller ID and reject the call.

Why didn't he want to talk to Wright?

He'd probably start with why he transferred schools, then why he became a prosecutor.

Then if the rumors of forging evidence, back alley deals, and faulty testimonies were true.

He just didn't feel like explaining himself, or even talking about any of that really.

It wasn't personal.

He had no bidding against Wright, but the accused will always lie.

They don't want to be found out and convicted.

There's no way to accurately determine if somebody is truly guilty or innocent.

That's why it's so important that he does everything in his power to get a guitly verdict every time.

He was aware of the risks.

He knew what he was doing and why he was doing it.

Wright was too simple-minded to understand anyway.

But knowing him and how he was when they were children, once his mind was made up there was no changing it.

And he hadn't seemed like he changed much either.

This was probably just the beginning.

* * *

The beginning, indeed. More chapters to come. Review please. 

Guys, I made up that number. Don't call it asking for Phoenix. It's fake. FYI 555 numbers are always fake.

Edit - I must apologize for the enormous amount of grammar errors I didn't catch before I posted this chapter. Thank you Jade for the heads up.


	2. What It's About

I forgot to mention in chapter one that credit goes to Lauren Order for the name of this fic. Thanks for your help, and sorry for forgetting.

And thank you to TheInsane for editing and commentary.

* * *

Not guilty.

Miles was back in his office, completing paperwork for the trial of State v.s. Fey, his hand slightly trembling.

The paper was almost intimidating.

_Verdict._

Miles had to force himself to write "not guilty" on the line.

He got up and stood by his window and starred aimlessly, hoping his mind would deter from this loss.

But it was ridiculous.

Inconceivable.

Outrageous.

Absurd.

Insane.

Ludicrous.

Wright.

Damn him.

How could a mere amateur, with one case under his belt, defeat him? Miles had won hundreds of cases, and investigated hundreds of others, producing the decisive evidence needed for the conviction. He defeated veteran defense attorneys with ease, but this rookie casted shame on them all.

There was nothing Wright had that he didn't.

His argument grasped a fine thread of logic, but Miles never worried or panicked. His witnesses were prepared, they all knew what to say and what to omit, and he made sure that the evidence supported everything he was arguing.

How could he overlook something like the date on a receipt?

Miles' train of thought was broken when he heard a knock at his office door.

"Mr. Edgeworth?" Detective Gumshoe said quietly, probably feeling guilty himself.

He failed to catch the right criminal, and because of that, Edgeworth lost the case.

Miles didn't respond and continued to stare gloomily out the window.

"Hey pal, why don't we look at the bright side for a second here?" Miles was appalled that Gumshoe insisted that there was a bright side at all.

"The bright side? Please, detective, enlighten me. What 'bright side' are you referring to? Keep in mind that I lost this trial." Miles did his best to keep calm.

"Well, the real criminal and his accomplice are in jail right? I mean, that Harry Butz guy got a confession out of him. You can't get more decisive than that, pal."

"Wright." Gumshoe didn't seem to realize that he was being corrected.

"There pal, you see? That's the spirit! Besides there's always the next case. Next time Butz is on defense, we'll take him out!"

"Wright." Miles said louder and more deliberately. Gumshoe didn't get that he was wrong, but caught on that he should leave.

"Alright Mr. Edgeworth, I'll go now." With that, Gumshoe left.

For some reason, he felt his frustration ease a bit, almost as if...

Not possible.

Detective Gumshoe was too simple, carefree and sloppy to know what he was talking about.

He lost the trial.

That Maya girl and Wright, they could have been lying.

There's no way to just believe everything they said.

But then, why did White confess like he did?

Miles couldn't deny that there was evidence against him, but Wright could've arranged for that.

The guilty will do anything to erase evidence against them. They would lie, cheat, blackmail, kill, even. And yet, White confessed. Wright and Ms. Fey didn't give the court alibis and Gumshoe said they were at the scene when he arrived. Either of them could've commited the crime.

But why?

Another thing he couldn't deny was that no amount of investigation could produce a motive for either of them.

A young girl wouldn't kill her older sister, especially with no other known family members.

And Wright.

The only reasons he could think of to make a man want to kill his boss were worthy of comedians, and this was no laughing matter.

He still couldn't place why White had confessed.

Everything was planned in perfect detail, and Miles' backup plan was bulletproof.

What was on that list?

Wright read off some names on a list that made White snap.

Miles remembered that it had been taken by the court as evidence, so he went back to his desk and grabbed the folder for the Fey murder case. The entire folder was full of paper evidence that Wright had during the trial.

He flipped through Wright's notes, reading through the case he built, his plan, and his deductions.

Eventually he came to a photocopy of a newspaper article.

The article was dated, so it couldn't have been forged, it must be legitimate evidence, but Wright hadn't presented it.

It had one word written on top that looked like it wasn't part of the paper originally.

"_White_."

He read the article through and it sounded familiar.

It was about a politician, who had been embezzling government funds, and once word got out, he killed himself.

In Wright's notes, he wrote that Mia Fey's mother, Misty Fey had been ruined by White and Fey was keeping tabs on him, waiting for a chance to expose him.

Misty Fey.

DL-6.

Miles froze for a moment.

What if Wright researched that case?

What would he find?

Miles didn't want him anywhere near that incident, but it didn't look like there was anything else besides White and Fey's involvement here.

He brushed his worry off.

It was just a dream. An illusion his mind fabricated for reasons beyond his understanding.

Miles continued to read Wright's notes, and found that Marvin Grossberg had leaked to White that Misty Fey contacted--

He didn't want to go on. What if Wright knew?

--the victim by spiritual means but the man he accused was acquitted.

He didn't know after all.

Good.

Misty Fey was called a fraud and her daughter, Mia Fey followed White for years to find a way to expose his blackmail and have him put in jail.

Even Marvin Grossberg was being blackmailed into silence by White.

Wright also noted that this was only one of many suicides that Fey suspected White was involved with.

Wright had circled that paragraph and wrote in the margin of the paper, '_MOTIVE_'.

He turned that page over and found another page, handwritten, that contrasted with Wright's handwriting.

It was a list of names: The same names he read off before White snapped.

Miles recognized most of the names from previous investigations, cases, and media. They mostly consisted of politicians, celebrities, and government officials that were involved in some kind of illegal movement.

Had White been blackmailing them all?

There was no other reason why he would snap like that if it wasn't true.

He had to admit they had locked away a real monster.

White had a motive, tapped Fey's phone and created evidence to accuse Maya Fey and Phoenix Wright.

And if Mia Fey really did write "Maya" in her blood, and if April May really saw Maya Fey commit the murder then how did White claim that Wright had been the killer if May witnessed the crime at the same time and place as White?

That must've been why Wright didn't have any trouble discounting White's testimony.

None of the evidence added up.

Miles should've realized this sooner.

The Chief Prosecutor called him to tell him that White's testimony would be the absolute truth and if he raised an objection, the judge would listen without a doubt.

He didn't even want to imagine what kind of information White had over the Chief's head.

While he attacked whoever the defendant was, Wright went about doing research to find a real killer.

It's not like Edgeworth didn't do his research, but he just didn't broaden his search, or his methods.

Wright found out about the wiretap, then most likely got more information out of Ms. May at the detention center.

That must've lead him to White.

The newspaper article must've come from Fey and Co. Law Offices.

Grossberg most likely gave him more information about White's background and the circumstances of his blackmail.

The only research Miles did was against Fey and Wright.

Miles never cared before if the murderer and the defendant were two different people. He was taught to treat them as one, and who was he to disregard a significant part of his life?

If somebody is on suspicion for murder, then there must be a reason for it.

And if the evidence didn't quite add up, then create it.

If the police found reason to believe that this person committed a crime, then he's not doing any wrong by making that person pay the price.

That's why it's so important that every defendant is found guilty. It doesn't matter who they are, everybody is capable of murder. A women, if strong enough, can strangle her child in a fit of rage. A child can have an accident, and playfully push their friend straight off a bridge, and the mind can force itself into a state of denial.

It's important because every single living organism with intent can kill.

That's what it's all about.

* * *

Oh noes! It's the feelings! The uncertainty and unease! Oh noes! I'm not funny...


End file.
